


At the very least, we can date the pizza.

by mahwaha



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-17
Updated: 2013-11-17
Packaged: 2018-01-01 19:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1047842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahwaha/pseuds/mahwaha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto revels in the warmth of new friendship and budding affection.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the very least, we can date the pizza.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jessicamiriamdrew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicamiriamdrew/gifts).



> To Bonnie, for the Makoto Birthday Fanworks Exchange.
> 
>  
> 
> <http://makotobirthdayexchange.tumblr.com/>

Seijuurou glances at the watch face over the inside of his wrist, stomach growling beneath the blanket of chatter in the building at his back. He sighs and looks around, sliding his thumbs into his pockets while he scours the crowd. Ah, there he is.

“Mikoshiba-san!” Makoto’s head towers above a small cluster of particularly cute girls, shoulders bobbing with every jogging step forward. He smiles and murmurs an apology before carefully maneuvering around them, finally coming to a swaying stop a few feet from Seijuurou. “I’m sorry if you waited long. My siblings wanted to start a new game before I left.” What Seijuurou recognizes as the Token Makoto Smile from their joint swim practices appears, and Seijuurou laughs from deep within his belly while he thumps Makoto’s back. The Token Makoto Smile makes way for a sputter until Seijuurou stops to clasp Makoto’s shoulder.

“What’s two minutes between captains? Call me Seijuurou, okay? We’re friends who share advice over pizza, now.” A large, toothy grin fills his face as Seijuurou gives Makoto’s back another hearty thump. Makoto tries to stifle his grunt, this time, and fights to stay standing straight.

“Ah, okay. Sorry, Seijuurou.” Seijuurou’s hand slides from his back when they step into the pizzeria and fall into the dwindling line to the counter. Makoto’s eyes waver between the distant menu and Seijuurou’s back, his large hands twisting together in front of him while he searches for more to say. ‘Thank you for coming’, maybe?

“Do you want to split something, Makoto?” Seijuurou turns to address Makoto just as Makoto takes a breath to speak, a hand raised mid-tap. Before he can drop it, Seijuuro slaps him a high five with a lopsided smile, chuckling. Makoto laughs, too, though when he draws his hands behind his back he can’t tell if it’s nervous and embarrassed or in good humor. He and Seijuurou never talked much, but Makoto appreciated how friendly Seijuurou acted towards him, regardless. He smiles at Seijuurou, nodding once while his shoulders relax.

“Yeah. Then maybe you can give me advice about our new members?” They shuffle forward absently, Makoto casting another look towards the menu before Seijuurou nudges his arm with an elbow.

“Only if you’ll give me the secret to reeling in Matsuoka when he sees me talking to Gou.” 

 

Weeks later, Makoto thumbs through emails on his phone while waiting for Seijuurou outside of the pizzeria, aka ‘the place where captains like us can talk strategy. And also about cute girls!’ Seijuurou’s appreciation for Gou knew very few bounds, but so did his appreciation for his team, Makoto had discovered. The thought made the corners of his lips twitch while he opened an email from Nagisa.

_mako-chan, rin-chan is here and he wants you to tell sei-chan to respect gou-chan. also, we will miss you at the team dinner 2nite! we’ll have team dessert after if you and sei-chan want to join!!!_

Before Makoto could compose a reply, a familiar hand slapped onto his shoulder. The force of it stung, but not unpleasantly.

“Makoto! You ready for some captain strategy pizza?” When Makoto’s head turns toward the greeting, Seijuurou’s eyebrows rise with the widening of his smile, impish but not unfriendly. Makoto smiles back without hesitation and absent-mindedly slips his phone back into his pocket.

“I think so.” 

When they step inside, Seijuurou makes a beeline for the open booth near the back and throws down his jacket, then throws a thumbs up in Makoto’s direction. They sat at the same booth for their first ‘captain strategy pizza’, and when the line dwindles enough to place their order, Makoto finds himself across from Seijuurou on the cracking red cushions, again. Seijuurou regales him with the tale of the aftermath of their last joint practice, where one of Iwatobi’s new recruits, a first year prodigy, took a better time than Rin in a mock race. 

Makoto can no longer hide his laughter behind his hand, by the time the pizza arrives, and Seijuurou almost smacks the server with an ill-placed gesture to emphasize just _how_ huge the piñata had been, before Rin directed his rage at it. They both manage to calm down long enough to thank the server, though as soon as she leaves Seijuurou leans across the table, towards Makoto.

“I don’t even know where he _got_ it on such short notice!” He finishes, a long, gusting sigh following the flex of his fingers on either side of the pizza pan. Makoto scoots it away from Seijuurou and wipes his eyes, still giggling.

“I’ll have to tell Ishikawa-chan to be more sportsmanly when she does well. Sometimes she acts like a younger sibling type and gets adamant like Rin.” Makoto’s soft ‘mother smile’ hovers on his face before he stops to take a drink of his water. Seijuurou’s short bark of laughter doesn’t faze him, though Makoto gives a short, thankful bow of his head when Seijuurou lifts two slices of pizza onto each of their plates.

“It’s good that she pushes him, too. He’s learning to be a part of Samezuka’s team, and now he can learn how to deal with his stubborn juniors.” Seijuurou’s begrudging tone holds a note of amusement, and Makoto’s soft smile returns with a small lift of his eyebrows.

“It sounds like Rin must be the stubborn junior for you.” Seijuurou nods vigorously, and the two fall back into easy laughter before taking to their food. The night runs longer than their first, and by the time Makoto recalls Nagisa’s first email he has received another.

_mako-chan!!! haru-chan climbed into the fountain next to the new cookie shop and you missed it!! we should have another team night so you can invite sei-chan and we can all have fun together! make sure sei-chan gives you lots of captain tips so you can give me and rei-chan lots of tips, too! you owe us for not coming 2nite! :P_

Most of the other customers trickled from the pizzeria earlier, leaving their table and two others still occupied by banter. Seijuurou, his chin propped in his hand, watches Makoto with a question in his raised brows and and slightly drawn mouth.

“You gotta go?” Makoto checks the time and realizes that yes, he does. His surprise must show on his face, because Seijuurou laughs while he slides out of the booth, corralling their halves of the paid bill to the edge of the table. “Want to walk with me to the station, at least?” Even though he remembers the late hour, Makoto checks his phone again.

“Yeah. Thanks for meeting me, Seijuurou.” Belatedly, he realizes that they talked very little ‘captain strategy’ over the night, though they did talk about their teammates. Makoto stretches after he leaves the booth to stand, and staggers towards the door with a yawning Seijuurou.

“No problem. Hey, let me see your phone. I’ll program my number in it while we walk. That way we don’t have to wait until joint practices to hang out.” Seijuurou holds the door open for Makoto and holds out his free hand good-naturedly. “You can text me with your name so I have your number, too.” Makoto hums in agreement as he meets the temperate night air, and hands his phone over when they begin to walk. Seijuurou’s face looks paler in the white light from his phone screen, but his eyes glow like lamps while he scrunches his face in concentration. His phone has a contact for ‘Cap’n Seijuurou’ when it’s returned to him.

On the walk to the train station, their talk stays light and subdued in between Seijuurou’s booming peals of laughter. 

Makoto revels in the warmth of making new friends, even after Seijuurou disappears onto the train with a lazy wave.

 

They still don’t meet for pizza more than every couple of weeks or so, but they do keep in touch. At one swim practice, Nagisa steals Makoto’s phone to see ‘who hogs Mako-chan and his smile so much’, and laughs in surprise when he sees Makoto’s text log with ‘Cap’n Seijuurou’. He almost invites himself to their next pizza meet-up, but Rei reins him in with demands to respect the privacy of others. The laughter and distraction grows out of control when Ishikawa-chan—Shun, Makoto corrects himself—demands that everyone watch her whip Haru in the pool.

Haru frowns like he used to in their younger years, back when Rin frustrated him with his pushy enthusiasm. Makoto laughs and takes a discreet picture of his friends to send to Seijuurou.

_I think we will always have a Rin-type around. How is Rin? Also, we should have pizza this week instead of waiting for next week._

Even though Makoto knows that Seijuurou should be at swim practice, too, his response comes quickly. 

_Hell yea! How about Wed at 6? Rin is p fired up about joint practice this week lol. Now he has 2 ppl 2 compete with. Cute team pic._

Makoto grins, despite himself. 

_Okay. See you then!_

Wet hands grip his ankles as Nagisa grins at him from the edge of the pool. Makoto’s eyes widen while he shakes his head, throwing his phone frantically before Nagisa drags him into the pool. Luckily, Gou has developed enough cat-like reflexes for the whole team, and she catches Makoto’s phone while scolding Nagisa.

 

“Makoto-senpai, can I ask you something?” Gou peeks at Makoto from over an industrial-sized box of swim caps before tossing it into their shared cart. Makoto crosses it off from their club list and looks at her curiously, a kind smile easing across his mouth.

“You can ask me anything. What is it, Gou-chan?” He keeps his attention on her even as he steers the cart towards the aisle for shampoo, steps slow and short. Gou’s cheeks flush as her mouth sets into a determined line, eyes never wavering from his.

“Are you dating Seijuurou?” Makoto’s steps shuffle out of time. He feels his own cheeks heating up as his eyes fall to his hands on the cart. Quickly, he redirects them back to Gou’s face.

“Dating him? Uh.” Gou’s hand appears in his face, waving wildly as she fights to keep her voice calm.

“I know it’s none of my business, and you don’t need to tell me! I just noticed for the past couple of months that you’ve been going out a lot, and texting a lot, and talking a lot at joint practice. I accept you and support you no matter what, Makoto-senpai! So does everyone else! That’s all I wanted to say.” The stiffness of her shoulders eases as they lower from their earlier hunch beneath her ears, and Makoto stares. Her jaw sets just like Rin’s when he can’t be shaken from his goal, and the similarity helps Makoto find his smile, again.

“Thank you, Gou-chan.” She doesn’t press him for an answer, which he appreciates. Makoto needs time to think.

After he and Gou store their newly-bought supplies and part ways, Makoto shoots Seijuurou a text.

_Are you free for pizza at 6, tonight? Sorry for such short notice._

Seijuurou’s reply doesn’t arrive until Makoto can see his house in the distance, but it holds its usual gusto. 

_Yea!!! Never say sorry for pizza lol. See you then._

With a familiarity that comes with practice, Makoto lounges at their usual booth and smiles when Seijuurou sits across from him. Their usual medium sits on the table, cool enough to eat, and Seijuurou immediately scoops them both two pieces.

“What’s going on with you, Mako? Did you have cancelled plans tonight?” Grinning playfully, Seijuurou folds his pizza in half from the crust down and bites off the end. Makoto shakes his head, shredding a napkin on his lap beneath the table.

“No, I wanted to talk to you about something. Gou-chan was asking me about you, today.” Makoto balls the napkin up in his lap, neck heating up with his embarrassment as he moves his hands to the tabletop. Seijuurou doesn’t immediately launch into ‘Gou-talk’ at the mention of her name, like he used to back when they first started meeting up for pizza. Instead, he cocks an eyebrow and swallows. 

“What for? Everything okay?” Seijuurou sets his pizza back onto his plate and leans forward, elbows propped on the table. Makoto clears his throat and shakes his head again, leaning forward without thinking.

“No.” His voice softens but his eyes flicker around the edge of the pizza pan, unable to meet Seijuurou’s eyes. “She wanted to know if we were dating. She also offered her support.” Makoto swallows air, then leans back to take a sip of water for his rapidly drying throat. Seijuurou stares at him unabashedly, mouth open on words that won’t quite come forward. When he sits up, back ramrod straight, Makoto mimics him out of anxiety.

“What did you tell her?” Seijuurou’s face looks warm when Makoto glances at it, and it spurs his own embarrassment.

“Nothing? I thanked her for saying that she’d support us no matter what. She asked because we’ve been doing this a lot. We must look like a couple.” Makoto looks to Seijuurou again, surprised to find a smile waiting for him. It’s unfamiliar on Seijuurou’s face, a nervous smile.

“Do you want to date me? We can. I wouldn’t mind dating you! Well, I think you’d be pleasant—okay, this sounds bad.” Seijuurou combs his fingers through his hair before leaning forward, his mouth a stern line that refuses to keep from curling back into a smile. Makoto laughs, despite himself, and Seijuurou finally relaxes. “I haven’t been trying to sneakily date you or anything, but what I’m trying to say is that you’re great. So, if you want to date, this can be a date-date instead of a captain-date.”

“Even if we’re captains who are dating?” The tension in the air completely diffuses, and Makoto takes what feels like his first breath for the evening. Seijuurou’s barking laugh draws attention to their table, and Makoto finally understands the quiet, conspiratory chatter of the servers that usually came after a visit to their table.

“Fine, we can be captains on a captain date that’s exactly like a date-date. Does this mean we’re doing that? Are we dating?” Seijuurou’s easy confidence makes way for a childlike eagerness that reminds Makoto of Gou. When had Seijuurou stopped focusing all of that eagerness on Gou, and redirected it here? Makoto smiles, wide and bright, and covers his eyes while he laughs.

“Yes? This is embarrassing.” Seijuurou takes Makoto’s hand from in front of his face to clasp it between his own, making Makoto laugh harder as he pats Seijuurou’s hands with his free one.

“Mako, will you already be on this date with me?” Seijuurou speaks severely, struggling to keep a straight face while Makoto wipes his eyes and sucks in breath.

“Yes, we’re already on a date! This is a date. Thank you, Seijuurou.” 

The evening parallels any other while they eat, but Makoto can’t shake his smile and Seijuurou keeps marveling and touching Makoto’s hands as if he’d never seen them, before. When he walks Seijuurou to the train station, later, Makoto receives a tight hug that feels awkward and new all at once. He waves even after the train has gone, then pulls out his phone to send an email.

_Gou-chan, I didn’t answer your question earlier because I didn’t really know what to say, but now I do. Thank you for supporting Seijuurou and I while we start to date._

He pockets his phone and wanders towards home, reveling in the warmth of friendship and budding affection. 


End file.
